MUMBAI: Sunil Gavaskar, a former captain of India, believes Hardik Pandya can stake a claim for a leadership role in one-day matches after the World Cup this year if his team wins the opening ODI against Australia on Friday.

Pandya has been selected as the substitute captain for the opening ODI at the Wankhede Stadium since regular captain Rohit Sharma is expected to miss it owing to family obligations. "I have been really impressed with his captaincy at the T20 level for the Gujarat Titans and for India when he is captaining the T20 team," Gavaskar said in a statement to Star Sports.

 I do believe that if he wins the first game in Mumbai, then you can almost stamp him as the India captain once the World Cup is over in 2023.” Gavaskar said Pandya’s presence in the middle-order is essential for India. “He can be an impact player as well as a game changer in the middle-order.

Even for the Gujarat team, he was promoting himself up the order knowing that this is the time when the team needed some momentum and push, and he would do that,” Gavaskar said. “So, someone who is prepared to take on responsibility, lead from the front, and who will not ask the players to do something that he wants to do himself, is highly crucial,” he said.

Gavaskar said that Pandya’s captaincy style also makes him a favourite among the players.”What you see with Hardik Pandya as a captain is a sense of comfort with the rest of the team. Maybe, it’s the way he handles the players, puts his arm around the players. He just seems to give the players a sense of comfort.”That’s so important... to give a player a sense of comfort so that he can go and play his natural game. I think he encourages them, which is a wonderful sign.”

Meanwhile, former India player and commentator Ajit Agarkar has backed Rohit to fire with the bat once he links up with the Indian squad.”His record speaks for itself. You do not need to say anything about Rohit’s performance in white ball cricket. He has taken a slightly different approach at times, trying to be the aggressor at the top of the order,” Agarkar said

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